The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present invention and may not constitute prior art.
For automotive applications, fasteners are used to join trim components to sections or metal body panels of the automobile. The requirements for these fasteners are that they be insertable into apertures of the automobile and meet requirements to both retain the trim component as well as provide a minimum pullout retention force such that the trim component can be removed without damaging the vehicle panel. Common fastener designs include opposed deflectable wings which include free ends which deflect inwardly or toward each other upon insertion of the fastener and expand by spring force to hold the fastener within a rectangular slot in the automobile.
A drawback of commonly used fasteners having metal deflectable wings is the metal can damage the coating(s) applied to the vehicle panel during insertion which can lead to corrosion problems. All-plastic fasteners have therefore been developed to mitigate damage to the vehicle panel. A drawback of all plastic fasteners is the inability to match the repeated pull-out or retention force developed by metal fasteners.